Holding these for shareholder discount and the belief that someone will come along with a plan on what to do with them .....

Now could be the right time to get in for a ride northwards with little downside risk


ains


Thread started at 95p mid - currently at a high of 129p - up 35.79%








Investec Securities took the stock off its "sell" list citing among other factors the potential for "corporate action".


Banks call in Ernst & Young to check out Thistle Hotels
By Lauren Mills and Damian Reece (Filed: 02/02/2003)


Thistle Hotels' bankers, led by the Royal Bank of Scotland, have hired Ernst & Young to carry out a review of the business which could lead to sweeping management changes and disposals at the hotels group.

Although Thistle has around 320m in the bank, the banks are thought to be alarmed at the group's precarious trading position. They are also said to be questioning the ability of the management to steer the company through a period of uncertainty in the market.

In January, Thistle revealed a 10.5 per cent drop in average room rates in London last year. It also refused to give details of how it planned to spend the cash raised through the disposal of 31 regional hotels to Orb Estates last March for 600m. As part of the deal, Thistle retained management contracts to run the hotels.

The group also admitted it would be difficult to forecast turnover for 2003 because it remained "cautious as to when there will be a recovery in general hotel trading conditions".

Ernst & Young is expected to report back to the banks on the company's overall financial strength within the next two weeks. E&Y is likely to focus on current trading, as well as prospects for improving performance in a relentlessly difficult market.

The accountancy firm will also advise the banks on a range of strategic options including further disposals.

Thistle's shares rallied 9p to 98p at the end of last week after Investec Securities cited "corporate activity" as a reason for taking the stock off its "sell" list.

Ian Burke, the chief executive, is under mounting pressure to clarify whether he plans to return the cash to shareholders or spend it on acquisitions.

His indecision is causing friction among Thistle's leading institutional shareholders who hold differing views about what should be done with the cash.

The two biggest shareholders, each of which has a seat on the board, are BIL International, which owns 45.8 per cent, and the Government of Singapore which has a 13.1 per cent stake.

Other large investors include Havelock Investments and Tweedy Brown Company.

A spokesman for the company insisted it knew nothing of E&Y's review. He also confirmed that Burke would update the City with a strategic plan for the group when it announces its year-end results in early March.

ains
I just wonder why BIL floated THO while leaving 45% in the pocket.
To me it means that they have always wanted to get back into the drivers seat.
Remember that the only reason they sold off any shares before was that they got caught originally with over 30% of Mt Charlotte and were forced to find money they did not have to buy out the others.
Then they needed to sell off as little as possible at 170p because to sell off more would have lost them the asset base of THO and caused banking headaches.

Anyway as that is well in the past,it now looks like the Singapore crowd are getting ready to poach some of the THO crumbs by making a bid for the rest of BIL.
see :
http://www.uk-wire.com/cgi-bin/articles/200305120700119458K.html
The above has been discussed as a probability for some time - as early as 2000/1

I agree it probably does mean that ..... several bid situations were allowed to just fizz out. I think it's not a good situation for the minority and/or smaller shareholders and belive it should be referred. There is an enormous chunk of cash there - presumably they cannt touch at the moment .... unless they spend it.



ains

BIL now hold 61.17%

Jake Lloyd-Smith in Singapore, Evening Standard
12 May 2003

HARES in BIL International, the Singapore investment group that recently took over Thistle Hotels, roared higher on speculation that it may soon be the subject of a takeover battle between two Asian tycoons.




The stock jumped 18% to 82 cents as investors savoured the prospect of a duel for the group, whose 627m offer secured full control of Thistle and its 24 London hotels earlier this month at a big discount to the properties' net* asset value.


Thistle's six luxury landmark hotels, including the Royal Horseguards in Whitehall, could fetch up to 670m on any resale, according to sources close to the hotel group.


Last week, it emerged that renowned Indonesian-born asset trader Oei Hong Leong had amassed 8.1% of BIL after it took over Thistle. Oei is a major figure in the Singapore market with a vast retail investor following.


In response, BIL's controlling shareholder, Malaysian Quek Leng Chan, boosted his stake to 26% from 24% through his Camerlin investment group.


Analysts say BIL's purchase of Thistle has raised its net asset value* per share, stoking Oei's predatory interest and Quek's prompt response. 'Oei is well known as a savvy asset trader with an eye for selecting undervalued companies,' broker Kim Eng Ong Asia told clients. Its sum-of-parts valuation for BIL is S$1.11 per share.


Apart from Thistle, BIL owns a 5% stake in Asian beverage maker Fraser & Neave, a similar-sized holding in Air New Zealand and property assets in Fiji.

Eased back now to about 78c.
Asset backing of BIL is about 111c but may have increased with the THO under full control because they have THO at 130p when the assets are worth up to 211p.
That would 81p 0n 260m shares -say 220m pounds ($NZ600m) or another 40c per share.
NTA is then 150c
Only problem is I don't know how they have consolidated the 45% they had before the bid. If they played by the rules then another 35c could be added for those shares.
175c would be more than double the present price in teh market.
And it depends on the ability to realise 211p

They may have a bit of a problem on realising 211p ....... they were expecting to get their hands on the cash mountain ... that's not possible now without giving lots of it away



ains

By Katherine Espina
SINGAPORE, May 14 (Reuters) - Malaysian tycoon Quek Leng Chan raised his stake in investment firm BIL International Ltd to 28.87 percent, a breath away from the 30-percent trigger for a mandatory takeover offer under Singapore law.

BIL, which has a controlling stake in dominant London hotel group Thistle Hotels Plc THO.L , said Quek bought 38.59 million shares at S$0.81152 each on May 12 to raise his stake from 26.05 percent -- his second big purchase in two weeks.

The buying follows financial market speculation of a possible bidding war between Quek and Chinese-Indonesian asset trader Oei Hong Leong, who has snapped BIL shares in the past week to push his stake to 8.14 percent.

Under Singapore rules, a takeover offer becomes mandatory once the 30 percent shareholding limit is reached.

Last week, Quek raised his holding in BIL to 26 percent from 24 percent.

BIL, formerly a New Zealand investment vehicle of Sir Ronald Brierley before shifting its primary stock listing to Singapore in 2000, has seen its shares surge 63 percent since May 1.

The stock, which has outperformed the key Straits Times Index .STI by 59 percent in the same period, closed one cent up at S$0.805 on Wednesday.

Quek, who sold Hong Kong's Dao Heng Bank to Singapore's DBS Group Holdings Inc DBSM.SI for S$10 billion two years ago, built up his stake after Oei was spotted buying shares following BIL's successful $1-billion bid for Thistle Hotels.

Oei, known as an astute asset trader, lost out in high-profile takeover battle for Singapore steel miller NatSteel Ltd NATS.SI in January.

they now hold 64%

Received my cheque from BIL this morning and note they now hold over 68% and still increasing.



ains

72.4% now